Combined stand holder



March 17, 1959 I J. HOLLAND 2,877,582

COMBINED STAND HOLDER Filed Dec. 5, 1956 2am w r' 2,877,582 P t nted Mar. l 1959 COMBINED STAND HOLDER Julian Holland, Cranston, R. I.

Application December 3, 1956, Serial No. 625,862

1 Claim. (Cl. 40-125) The present invention relates generally to a combined stand and holder, and more particularly to a novelty item for use on an office desk, table or the like.

A primary object of the instant invention is the pro vision of a novelty itemcomprising a display surface adapted to receive thereon a calendar or the like, and further comprising means for maintaining said display surface in an upright position, said means simultaneously functioning as a detachable clip for receiving memo slips and the like.

An additional important object of my invention is the provision of a combined stand and holder which for the most part may be constructed of molded plastic, thereby of a device of the' character described which is not .only simple and economically feasible to'manufacture, but

which also is of durable and attractive construction.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings which illustrate the best mode presently contemplated by mefor carrying out my invention:

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a combined stand and holder constructed in accordance with the instant invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 4 is a rear perspective view of the display wall per se which forms a part of my invention; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective detail of the clip leg which forms a part of my invention.

It has been found desirable to provide a combination display stand and memo holder particularly adaptable for use on office desks and the like. In a busy office, it is frequently necessary to leave messages at a persons desk during his absence so that upon his return, he may be advised as to what has transpired. More specifically, it is common practice in many oflices to utilize telephone memo slips whereby the occupant of a desk may be advised as to what phone calls were directed to him during his absence, and what messages were left for him pursuant thereto. Since a busy desk frequently becomes cluttered with papers and other materials during the course of a normal working day, it not infrequently happens that when a person returns to his desk, he fails to notice any memo slips that have been left for him due to the fact that such slips may easily become mixed in with other papers and 2 the like. Thus, it is desirable to provide some sort of clip or holder that may be placed on a desk and which will function to detachably maintain memo slips and the like in an upright position, whereupon they will immediately come to the attention of the desk occupant upon his return thereto.

At the same time, most ofiice desks are provided with an upright display stand of some sort, such as, for example, a calendar, a picture frame, or the like. The basic concept of the instant invention is the simultaneous utilization of such an upright display stand as a memo clip or holder. More specifically, in accordance with my invention, the supporting means utilized to maintain the display stand in an upright position also function as a clip or holder for maintaining a memo slip or the like in a vertical, upright position in a manner now to be described.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown generally at 10 a combined stand and holder constructed in accordance with my invention. As illustrated, the device 10 comprises a substantially rectangular-shaped display wall 12 adapted to receive a calendar 14 on the front surface thereof. Preferably, the wall 12 is constructed therein a framed area 16 and a depressed portion 18 adapted to receive the calendar 14 so that the latter is substantially flush'withvthe remainder of the front surface of the wall'12. Aswill be obvious, the calendar 14 may be maintained in position on the wall 12 by any desirable means, such as plastic studs 20, which may be heat sealed over. the outermost calendar sheet. The lowermost corners of the calendar 14 may be retained in position by means of integral corner tabs 22 extending from the wall frame and overlying apertures 24 formed in the depressed portion 18. It will be understood that the portion of the wall 12 disposed above the calendar 14, as well as the framed area 16, is preferably utilized for the presentment of any desired advertising material, where- 'upon the device" 10 is readily adaptable for use as a giveaway premium or the like. It will further be understood that while my device 10 has been described and illustrated as calendar mounting means, this is not to be taken as a limitation, since, obviously, the display wall 12 could be readily and easily designed to receive and display other desired indicia. For example, the device 10 could easily be constructed to display family pictures and the like.

In order to maintain the display wall 12 in substantially upright position, a clip-leg generally designated at 26 is provided. As will be noted most clearly in Fig. 5, the clip-leg 26 is of substantially rectangular configuration and is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed, perpendicularly extending pivot lugs 28 having aligned apertures 30 therein. At one end of the clip-leg 26 there is provided a perpendicularly extending flange 32, the edge of which is of arcuate configuration. It will be noted that the lugs 28 and the flange 32 extend in the same direction from the plane of the leg 26, and since said leg is also preferably constructed of molded plastic, the lugs and flange are shown as being an integral part thereof.

Integrally and rearwardly extending from the rear surface of the display wall 12 is a pair of cooperating pivot lugs 34 having aligned apertures 36 therein. As will be seen in Fig. 3, the pivot lugs 34 are spaced apart a slightly greater distance than the lugs 28 carried by clipleg 26, whereupon the latter lugs are adapted to fit therebetween and be pivotally assembled therewith by means of pivot pins or the like 38. As will be obvious, the clip-leg 26 is pivotally attached to the display wall 12 so that the inwardly extending flange 32 of the former is located adjacent the top edge of the latter. As will be seen most clearly in Fig. 4, the rear surface of the upper edge of wall 12 is provided with an arcuate recess 40 conforming to the arcuate configuration of the flange 32 whereby the latter is adapted to snugly fit therein for reasons hereinafter to be made apparent.

In order to normally maintain the clip-leg 26 in spread or supporting position, resilient means in the form of a coil spring 42 are provided. As will be noted, the spring 42, which is secured to the inner surfaces of clip-leg 26 and display wall 12 by any desirable means, such as cementing or the like, is disposed below the pivot point 38 whereby to normally maintain the lower edges of the wall 12 and clip-leg 26 is spaced or spread relation, this in turn enabling the device to stand substantially upright in an easel-like manner (Fig. 3). In this position, the display surface of the wall 12 is readily visible, and at the same time the arcuate edge of the flange 32 is in resilient engagement with the arcuate recess 40. By manually pressing together the lowermost portions of the wall 12 and the clip-leg 26 against the action of the spring 42, it will be obvious that the flange 32 will disengage from the recess 40 thereby enabling a memo slip or other paper to be inserted therebetween. Upon release of said lowermost portions,]spring 42 will cause the flange 32 to again resiliently engage the recess 40 and to clamp therein any paper or memo that has been disposed therebetween. As shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 3, the arcuate edge of flange 32 and the arcuate recess 40 will cooperate to impart a vertical curvature to the paper 46, which curvature will aid in maintaining the paper in the upright position shown. Without this curvature, it has been found that a tendency exists for the paper to collapse rearwardly, whereupon it is no longer readily visible.

Thus it will be seen that there has been provided in accordance with the instant invention a device which is both simple and inexpensive to manufacture and which at the same time provides an ingenius and practical desk item. Not only does the display stand function in its normal manner, but at the same time the supporting means therefor functions to provide releasable gripping means for maintaining a memo slip in an upright position whereby attention will be immediately drawn to it.

Although I prefer to manufacture the display wall and clip-leg of molded plastic, it will be understood that any other desirable material, metallic or otherwise, can just as well be utilized.

While there is shown and described herein certain specific structure embodying the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms herein shown and described except in so far as indicated by the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A combined stand and holder comprising a display wall having top and bottom edges, an elongated clip-leg pivotally attached to the rear of said wall in spaced relation thereto, said clip-leg extending substantially from the top to the bottom edge of said wall and having its pivotal connection therewith located intermediate its ends, an inwardly extending flange located at one of the leg ends, the inner edge of said flange being of convex, arcuate configuration and the rear of the adjacent wall edge having a complementary concave recess for receiving said flange edge therein, and resilient means associated with said clip-leg normally maintaining the flange end thereof in clamping engagement with the rear of said wall top edge and the opposite leg end in spaced relation with said wall bottom edge, whereby said bottom edge and opposite leg end cooperate to provide support means for maintaining said wall in substantially upright position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 244,371 Belknap July 19, 1881 728,358 Blincoe May 19, 1903 1,172,606 Jones Feb. 22, 1916 1,363,545 Wallace Dec. 2 8, 19,20

FOREIGN PATENTS 369,127 France Oct. 31, 1906 367,486 Germany Jan. 22, 1923 

